2012-2013 Teaching Effectiveness Program
SUMMER 2012
Sharing of best practices among instructors of first-year courses
August 27, 2012; 3 hours
The purpose of this gathering is to share experiences and generate ideas that might further enhance Trent's first year experience. The morning's discussion is structured as follows:
- Conversation about how to leveratge students' mobile technology in classroom teaching and learning. The facilitator of this conversation will be Jocelyn Williams of the Anthropology Department.
- Conversation about ways to promote collaboration among first year course instructors. The facilitator of this conversation is Stephen Hill of the Environmental and Resource Studies/Science Program.
- Time for open discussion on topics determined by the participants.
to help students make it through
August 27, 2012 & November 9, 2012; 2 hours each
With Nona Robinson, Vice President, Students &
Stewart Engelberg, Director, Wellness Centre
In this session, student affairs and counselling staff will address a range of difficulties faced by students, that can lead to academic challenges or a need for student services support. We will also cover the ways to raise a concern with students when needed. Finally, we will review the different resources available for students, and how faculty can refer students to them.
Creating e-reading lists
August 27, 2012 with Ellen Olsen-Lynch &
November 1, 2012 with Jean Luyben; 1 hour each
What is a DOI and how should I use it in an e-reading list? How do I locate and embed an article's stable URL in Blackboard or Word? How can I use RefWorks to create e-reading lists? Why should I create an e-reading list instead of or in addition to a course pack? What about e-reserves via the Library? The Library invites you to a session that will answer all of these questions and more.
Copyright and fair dealing
November 1, 2012 & December 11, 2012; 1 hour each
with Susan Lawrence, Copyright Coordinator
Questions about copyright keeping you up at night?
As you may well be aware by now Trent University has decided not to renew a license agreement with Access Copyright and will be managing its own copyright going forward under the recently passed Copyright Modernization Act. Learn how the university is managing copyright under the Trent Guidelines for the Use of Copyrighted Material and what these changes mean for you as a faculty member.
Have you ever wondered…
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Can I show films that are not in the library collection?
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Can I post materials to Blackboard or E-reserve without getting permission?
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What is Fair Dealing and how do I know if my material is covered under Fair Dealing?
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How much is too much when it comes to posting material?
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Where do I go online to request copyright permission?
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Do I need copyright permission for commercial material that is part of a PowerPoint presentation for students?
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What is my role and responsibility when it comes to copyright?
Integration of digital tools, media and
spaces into academic environments
November 13, 2012; 1.5 hours
With Dr. Sara Humphreys, English Literature
Visit the Digital Communitas research site
Students and teachers have come to rely on digital spaces to create, manage, and easily manipulate academic content. Digital spaces, including learning platforms such as Blackboard, are connecting students to new academic spaces, and these interactive environments allow for flexible learning.The most exciting aspect of this digital revolution in education is the possibilities offered by collaborative communication. Social media connects students, instructors, and other publics in ways never before imagined. Sites such as Facebook, Youtube, Tumblr, and Twitter are perhaps the most well-known examples of social media platforms, and it is clear that their purpose and formats vary greatly. However, all platforms share the interest and ability to connect their individual users together in an online, interactive environment. Social media has the ability to connect the private to the public (and vice versa) and reshapes this binary to sometimes suit but more likely construct (or at least influence) the needs of an increasingly globalized, technologically-focused world.Thanks to a Learning Innovation Grant, Sara Humphreys and two research assistants were able to research how these digital tools, media and spaces are being integrated into academic environments. Our research is housed on a site that rigorously investigates interactions between digital publics and academic publics; we are excited to share our work with the Trent community.
Teaching for cultural Inclusivity
November 28, 2012; 2 hours
with Dr. Mike Allcott, Head of Champlain College & Director, Trent International Program
The perspective and experience of international students can bring rich pedagogical value to our classrooms and for all students. Practicing active inclusivity can help to realize that goal. This workshop will provide practical techniques for making diversity a strength, rather than a problem, in your classroom.
We will look at some legal requirements guiding us on issues of cultural diversity. Likewise we’ll work to deepen our understanding of the concept of “culture” and how it influences behaviours in classrooms. Finally, we’ll engage some practical exercises and debrief on challenges and solutions.
Dr. Mike Allcott is an award-winning teacher who has worked in the field of international education for more than twenty years.
Putting my students in “Jeopardy”:
Introducing layered weekly on-line quizzes
into a third year Chemistry course
December 6, 2012; 1.5 hours
with Dirk Wallschläger, Associate Professor, Environmental & Resource Sciences Program and the Department of Chemistry
I taught a third year chemistry course for a number of years, and was unhappy with the student performance in the exams. I thought that the poor student performance was related to students trying to acquire a vast amount of material in short period just before the exam. Therefore, I investigated a way to get the students into a habit of continuous “weekly” learning by substituting the midterm and final exams in this course with a series of weekly multiple choice computer quizzes. Comparison of these quiz results to the previous exam results demonstrates a clear increase in student performance – but did they really learn more?
I will provide an overview of how the quiz system works, and discuss some of the issues that arose during the planning and execution of this new test format. I will also discuss how this kind of testing needs to be integrated into the rest of the course organization. Finally, I will illustrate some open issues that remain for future implementations of this testing system.
Blended Learning and the Flipped Classroom
December 10, 2012; 1.5 hours
Flipping the classroom is a pedagogical concept that replaces the standard lecture-in-class format with an opportunity to explore concepts and to review materials from outside of class. This can happen in many forms, but the underlying premise is that students review information outside of class and, instead of simply receiving information from the instructor, come prepared to discuss concepts.
Blended courses integrate a combination of classroom and online activities. Most blended courses replace 25% to 50% of classroom time with online activities through some type of instructional technology. These courses allow for more active learning and flexible scheduling, while maintaining the face-to-face contact characteristic of the classroom. Depending on the course goals and content, the schedule of alternating online and face-to-face components of a blended courses vary from one section to the next. Come out and learn about some examples of different course schedules that employ this technique!
Getting started with iClicker
December 13, 2012; 1 hour
In this workshop, participants will learn the basics of the iClicker and iGrader software:
* Setting up a roster and student registration
* Asking and writing good clicker questions
* Synchronizing your grader data with Blackboard
* Viewing and managing the data in iGrader
* Talking to students about iClicker
Using iClicker for graded tests
December 13, 2012; 1.5 hours
with Kaukab Kamran, Instructor, Mathematics
Have you used iClicker for testing or is this something that you have thought about? If so, we would like to call a meeting of iClicker users to discuss the opportunities and challenges of using clickers for assessment purposes. Kaukab Kamran of the Mathematics Department has offered to share her experience. We also invite others to contribute their experience as well.
Suicide Alertness (SafeTALK) Certificate Training
December 6, 2012; January 25, 2013; 3.5 hours each
with Kate MacIssac, Student Crisis Response Coordinator
- recognize signs of thoughts of suicide;
- overcome barriers that lead one to miss, dismiss and avoid suicide, and;
- use the TALK (tell, ask, listen, keepsafe) steps to refer the person with thoughts to a first aid resource
For more information about SafeTALK training, please visit https://www.suicideinfo.ca/workshop/safe-talk/ or email kmacisaac@trentu.ca
Realizing the Promise of Experiential Learning
Wednesday, February 6, 2013; 1.5 hours
with Sheldene Simola, Associate Professor Business Administration Program and Louise Fish, Director of Risk Management
“Experiential Learning” has become increasingly common in higher education. However, despite its apparently obvious and commonsensical meaning, “experiential learning” is a contested term, in which various underlying philosophies are associated with different experiential methods. Moreover, despite the transformative potential of experiential approaches, their methods also pose specific ethical, risk management and pragmatic challenges, which sometimes go unacknowledged and therefore unaddressed.
This workshop will accomplish three goals:
(1) First, it will provide a brief overview of three key approaches to experiential learning, and offer concrete examples of the ways in which each has been implemented at Trent. (2) Second, it will identify the main types of ethical, pragmatic and risk management challenges associated with each approach to experiential learning. (3) It will provide guidance on how to develop and implement guidelines and procedures to address these challenges.
Interactive discussion and collaborative problem-solving will be used throughout.
Suicide Alertness (SafeTALK) Certificate Training
Wednesday, February 20, 2013; 3.5 hours
with Kate MacIssac, Student Crisis Response Coordinator
SafeTALK, typically about three hours in length, is a certificate training program that trains people to identify individuals with thoughts of suicide and connect them with suicide first aid resources. Approximately 80% of people who have thoughts of suicide invite others to help in many ways. SafeTALK training teaches one to be alert to these invitations and help support an individual's desire to stay safe.
- recognize signs of thoughts of suicide;
- overcome barriers that lead one to miss, dismiss and avoid suicide, and;
- use the TALK (tell, ask, listen, keepsafe) steps to refer the person with thoughts to a first aid resource
From Temple Grandin to The Big Bang Theory: Accommodating Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Tuesday, March 26, 2013;1.5 hours
with Jennifer Lund, Ph.D., Disability Advisor/Academic Coach
& Jessica Brewer, student staff member, Disability Services Office
Autism Spectrum Disorder has captured the public’s attention as demonstrated by the high profile of activist, academic and visionary Temple Grandin and the popularity of the fictional character of Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory.
AS is a complex disorder that typically affects a person's ability to communicate, form relationships and respond in conventional ways to his or her environment (Alcorn Mackay, 2010:4).
Ontario universities report that the number of students with ASD who are eligible and capable of enrolling in Post Secondary Education is increasing, with major increases expected in the next few years.
This workshop will address the following
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Features of Autism Spectrum Disorder
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Scenarios and strategies for accommodating students on the spectrum
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Open discussion on topics determined by the participants
Using multiple-choice structures for assessment of deeper knowledge: The immediate-feedback integrated-testlet
Thursday, April 25, 2013; 1 hour
with Aaron Slepkov, Assistant Professor, Physics & Astronomy
Multiple-choice testing is becoming more and more common as student populations rise and instructional resources dwindle. In almost every discipline we would like to find ways to test deeper levels of understanding or knowledge integrations than is typically afforded by multiple-choice tests. I believe that with simple immediate-feedback technology we can construct new types of multiple-choice assessment structures that allow for partial mark schemes, and active learning.
Supporting students in distress
Thursday, April 25, 2013; 1.5 hours
with Kate MacIsaac, Student Crisis Coordinator &
Nona Robinson, AVP Students
Knowing how to help students is not always straight forward. This interactive session will focus on prevention and early intervention of students in distress, through student skill development. Participants will also learn practical skills for approaching students in distress, and identify the barriers that can prevent one from helping. Time will be reserved at the end of the session for participant questions.
Inquiry-based Learning at Trent:
Sharing Experiences Across Disciplines
Wednesday, June 26, 2013; 3.0 hours
The Instructional Development Centre is organizing a meeting of faculty members who are currently using inquiry-based learning in their courses or are interested in trying this approach in the future.
- Suzanne Bailey, English Literature
- Mac Fenwick, English Literature
- Paul Frost, Biology
- Katia Keefer, Psychology
- Elizabeth Popham, English Literature
- Rachel Wortis, Physics & Astronomy
- Maggie Xenopoulos, Biology